[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 129 (Tuesday, September 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11005-S11006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KENT SHEARER

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to eulogize a 
friend and a former member of the Senate family, Kent Shearer, who died 
on August 23.
  Kent Shearer and I were boyhood friends from our early days in 
Russell, KS, when we were debaters at the high school. Kent was a great 
intellect. At the time when his colleagues were playing marbles, Kent 
was studying and talking about the Peloponnesian wars. During our high 
school days, Kent and I were colleagues in our freshman year debating 
the subject on the negative: resolved that individual income should be 
limited to $25,000 annually. Shows you how times have changed.
  Kent and I were on two high school debating teams which won the State 
championship. In 1945, Russell was a small school with fewer than 400 
students. We competed with schools our size, then moved the next year 
to the big-school category, where high schools had several thousand 
students across Kansas, finished in second place, and lost by a 
speaker's ballot. Then, in 1947, we were on the team that won the State 
AA championship with the big schools.
  Kent was the outstanding debater in Russell High. He won the Kiwanis 
award, went on to the University of Kansas, where he was Phi Beta 
Kappa, was the winner of the Perdue National Invitational Debate 
Tournament, competed in the West Point National Tournament, served then 
in the Judge Advocate General's office, and settled in Salt Lake City, 
UT in 1958, until 1997, when Alice, his wife, passed away, and he then 
moved to Portland, OR.
  A few years back, Kent came to join me, working on the Senate staff. 
He worked for 3 months. It was an honor and a pleasure to have my 
longstanding friend Kent Shearer work with me in the Senate. He brought 
a level of legal insights and erudition which was rare for a Senate 
staffer. But then Kent himself might have been a Senator had his career 
path taken one different shift. That was in 1994, in January, when the 
staff was being organized on the President's Commission to investigate 
the assassination of President Kennedy, commonly known as the Warren 
Commission. We had one spot left among the young lawyers on the staff. 
The Commission was recruiting lawyers from all over the country in 
order to avoid having the Washington establishment conduct the 
investigation out of concern that there might be some thought of a 
coverup if the same crowd in Washington did the investigation. There 
was concern about the integrity of Washington then as now. The staff 
was recruited from all over the country. We had lawyers from Des Moines 
and Denver and Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles. I called 
up Kent and urged him to apply for the position. Unfortunately, he 
couldn't do so because of his own career plans at that time. I think 
had Kent accepted a position as assistant counsel to the Warren 
Commission and come to Washington, his career might have been parallel 
to mine.
  Kent was active in Utah politics, was chairman of the State 
committee, was instrumental in the campaigns of Senator Garn and 
Senator Hatch and

[[Page S11006]]

worked for Senator Bennett's father, also a Senator. He worked with 
Senator Robert Bennett, very close to the political establishment of 
the State of Utah, a friend to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, Michael Leavitt, and would have been well suited for the U.S. 
Senate. Had Kent come to the Senate, we would have had three Senators 
from Russell, KS, since Senator Dole's hometown is Russell, while I was 
born in Wichita and moved to Russell at the age of 12. Kent would have 
fit in this establishment very well. He would have been a credit to the 
Senate.
  On August 30, Steve Mills, who was also Kent's colleague for the 
debate tournaments, and I went to Salt Lake City to participate in 
Kent's funeral services. He was a great American. He had a knack for 
writing, contributed extensively to the newspaper in Washington on 
columns. He was a brilliant man, an outstanding lawyer, and a really 
great American.
  I have taken a few moments today to eulogize him because his record 
is worth noting for the permanent record in our Congressional Record, 
especially since he was a member of the Senate family, even though for 
only a 3-month period.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the following obituary printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                              Kent Shearer

       Kent Shearer, 1929-2007. Kent Shearer, age 77, died 
     peacefully August 23, 2007, in Portland, Oregon. Kent was 
     born October 5, 1929 in Ellsworth, Kansas to William Shearer 
     and Agnes (Phillips) Shearer and was married to Alice Neff in 
     Russell, Kansas; January 25, 1952. Preceded in death by wife, 
     Alice and daughter Lorraine (Lori). Survived by son Edward 
     (Bo) and his wife Renee Montmorency, grandsons Samuel and 
     Beau of Portland, Oregon and sister Jane Shearer of Kansas 
     City, Kansas. Kent graduated from Russell High School in 
     Russell, Kansas with honors. He participated in the debate, 
     drama, and forensics program and won two State Championships 
     in debate. He attended Kansas University and earned a degree 
     from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences with Phi Beta 
     Kappa honors. He continued with debate on the KU varsity 
     team, winning many individual tournaments across the country, 
     including the National Invitational Tournament and twice 
     being invited to participate in the West Point Nationals. In 
     1954, Kent received his law degree from Kansas University and 
     entered the Army Judge Advocates Corps where he served until 
     1957. Kent and Alice made their home in Utah from 1958 until 
     Alice's death in 1997. Although a lawyer by trade, Kent's 
     passion throughout his life was Utah politics and the 
     Republican Party. He was an active organizer of the Salt Lake 
     County and Utah Young Republicans during the 1960s and 1970s 
     and served as the Utah State GOP Chairman from 1971 to 1973. 
     Kent was a key behind-the-scenes member of many political 
     organizations and campaigns (including Alice's political 
     career as a Salt Lake City Council member). He penned a much 
     discussed and anticipated column in The Enterprise Newspaper 
     on a wide range of topics for over 30 years. After Alice's 
     death in 1997, Kent moved to Portland, Oregon to be close to 
     his son's family. He pursued an intellectual retirement, 
     spending his time reading, writing and providing all the 
     answers to his grandsons' many questions. Kent's 
     accomplishments were many. However, all pale in the light of 
     his sharp mind and quick wit, his basic sense of decency and 
     the many people he touched throughout his life. He will be 
     missed by all who knew him. Funeral services will be held at 
     St. Marks Cathedral, 231 East 100 South, Salt Lake City on 
     Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 1 p.m. Following the service, a 
     reception in Kent's honor will be held at the Alta Club, 100 
     E. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Published in the Salt Lake 
     Tribune from 8/26/2007--8/28/2007.

                          ____________________